Special Edition: #MeToo

Martin Luther King Jr. once said, “The time comes when silence is betrayal.” The time to break the silence has come again for the survivors of sexual abuse with the #MeToo movement. What began as a simple hash tag trending on Twitter and Facebook in October 2017 has grown with millions of men and women proclaiming their independence from sexual violence. I am a #MeToo. It seemed simple enough to say those words when I first posted it on my Facebook page. I have been a victim and a survivor of sexual harassment and violence from my childhood on. Many of my experiences were tuckedRead More →

What can a sexual assault victim do if he or she is unable to report a sexual violation to the local authorities? What if the predator works for one of the local government authorities? Oregon’s Bureau of Labor and Industry provides a complaint process for sexual assault victims that is separate from local government authorities. The first step in the process is filling out a complaint questionnaire available online at www.Oregon.gov –- look for the BOLI Civil Rights Complaint Process heading under the Civil Rights Division section of the website. If internet is not a option victims can call 971-673-0764. They will ask you ifRead More →

Music is more than simple sound; it is a deep, ancient and powerful form of communication. The emotions conveyed can be just as primal. Most music is about love, peace and spirituality, but violence is a common theme as well. Not that I think it shouldn’t be a part of music. I think it’s integral that the range of emotions reached goes full circle. The problem becomes apparent when aesthetic becomes action. I’m going to ask you to think about a question that you’ve probably had to ask yourself before “is this a bad enough person for me to not listen to their music?” YouRead More →

When allegations involving Harvey Weinstein were broadcast right and left in 2017, actor and former NFL player Terry Crews tweeted that he too had been assaulted. Not by Harvey Weinstein, but by William Morris Endeavor agent Adam Venit. The incident has been reported as happening in February 2016 at a party with Hollywood elites like Adam Sandler in attendance. Crews later told Sandler about the assault. At the time of print, he has yet to make a comment. Crews has reported that Venit groped his genitals, in front of his wife Rebecca King-Crews, among other odd and uncomfortable behavior. According to Crews’s reports, the incidentRead More →

The #MeToo movement is giving victims of sexual harassment and assault a voice to expose their aggressors, even those who have seemed untouchable. These alleged aggressors have included Harvey Weinstein, Brett Ratner, and Kevin Spacey. However, as the movement has grown, some of these stories don’t seem fully legitimate, and the movement has even been called a witch hunt in recent weeks. This may be due to the complete trust we give to the accuser. Most accusations and stories are accepted as true even if the story lacks definitive proof or if the story is decades old. Those accused in some of these stories seemRead More →

Following dinner one Saturday night, your date begins to walk you home — but you wonder, will it end there? The two of you really hit it off and you’re anxious to see where this goes. Small talk begins to die out as your reach your doorstep. You pull out your keys to unlock the door… DING! Your phone notifies you of a Fling request from your date, outlining boundaries for a sexual encounter. Does this make you feel more comfortable or less? This is not a Black Mirror episode. This is not science fiction. This is LegalFling, and it is changing the way the worldRead More →

Every 98 seconds, just 98 seconds, an American is sexually assaulted. That’s about 321,500 victims who are raped and sexually assaulted every year, according to RAINN, one of America’s best known anti-sexual violence organizations. In the past, couples often grew up in communities together, getting to know each other in long love letters. Nowadays, people are rolling the dice on Tinder, Match.com or maybe Plenty of Fish. Although those dates can turn into something special that’s not always the case. Safety while dating online is crucial, especially since these sites allow users to play the field broadly, and getting to know the people behind theRead More →

Fully protecting all children from sexual abuse may be impossible, but local and national agencies are allocating resources for parents in order to reduce the risk. The Rape Abuse and Incest National Network, known as RAINN, advises being actively involved in children’s lives and encouraging them to speak up. There are safe ways to reduce sexual abuse and increase child safety. Parents should have conversations with children about boundaries and about their bodies. Parents should let children know that they won’t get in trouble for speaking up about these topic, RAINN says. Local resources are also available for education and prevention of child sexual abuse.Read More →

The #MeToo movement is creating some very serious legal and political repercussions. With all of the indiscretions of the rich and powerful in the media, what is Oregon doing to reduce sexual assault and harassment to protect the silenced? Oregon has some of the highest sexual assault rates in the country. According to statistics calculated by the CDC, in 2010 27 percent of Oregon women (or roughly 409,000) were raped that year alone. For sexual acts of violence other than rape, that number jumped horrifically to 56 percent of women or 837,000 people. These numbers are the second largest in the country following Alaska, theRead More →

Reporting sexual harassment or misconduct is hard, no matter how warranted the claim may be. One of the reasons may be a lack of understanding about the processes that take place once a claim is made. For sexually assaulted college students, no template or standard response for claims exists –as each case is individual— yet what follows is a little background on Title IX and how a report is generally handled. The Title IX Act in 1972 was initially a follow-up to the Civil Rights Act of 1964. The CRA was passed into law to end discrimination on the basis of race, color, religion, sexRead More →

This issue of The Mainstream focuses on the well-known #MeToo movement and all of the commentary and controversy, both social and political, which have developed because of the movement. The articles within will be using terms that many people are familiar with, however, this piece will focus on the legal definitions of the terms to establish a general baseline. Some terms may be defined differently in a social context and are not the focus here. Sexual Harassment: The U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission says “Harassment can include … unwelcome sexual advances, requests for sexual favors, and other verbal or physical harassment of a sexual nature.”Read More →

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